Amateur radio operators from Sammamish join in national deployment exercise

Volunteer communication specialists from Sammamish will join tens of thousands of amateur radio operators across the U.S. when they test their emergency communication capabilities and radio equipment during the annual AARL Field Day June 27 and 28 at Sammamish City Hall.

June 25, 2009 3:23 pm

Volunteer communication specialists from Sammamish will join tens of thousands of amateur radio operators across the U.S. when they test their emergency communication capabilities and radio equipment during the annual AARL Field Day June 27 and 28 at Sammamish City Hall.

Starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, the Sammamish ARES/RACES GROUPe (SARGe) will put equipment, skill and know-how to the test in the most popular on-the-air operating event in U.S. amateur radio.

You may have seen Sammamish Volunteer Communication Specialists before at local Sammamish events like last year’s ‘Fourth on the Plateau’, Nightmare at Beaver Lake and the ‘Concerts in the Park’ series.

In an emergency situation or exercise typically, they’re behind the scenes, operating their radio links to the Sammamish and King County Emergency Communications Centers, Eastside Fire and Rescue, the Red Cross, as well as other agencies in western Washington, to ensure readiness in emergency situations.

“We’ll be using emergency power to operate our radios, which will be set up to demonstrate our ability to handle priority messaging by voice and data modes, including email messages – with attachments and pictures – over our Amateur radio frequencies,” said Jon Bromberg, an organizer and participant in this year’s event.

“Imagine how helpful that capability might be to our City, fire and police responders following a disaster when landline and cell phones, and even the internet, may not be available.”

Bromberg pointed out that the AARL Field Day was a great opportunity for Sammamish citizens to join in the fun at the event and actually give radio operation a try on a ‘GOTA’ (Get On The Air), station that SARGe will have just for that purpose.

“We’ll have different equipment and personnel set up in various locations around the City Hall Plaza, and will be using different modes of communication,” he said. “It’s a fun time for us, too, we not only get to experiment with different radio communications, but we’re also able to get to know folks in the community who have an interest in amateur radio, and may be curious about how to get started with it. We won’t be hard to spot – just look up!”

One of the SARGe antennas will be aloft, attached to a helium weather balloon, 150 feet above Sammamish City Hall grounds.

More than 30,000 amateur radio operators across the country participated in last year’s event, according to the ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio.

There are over 650,000 Amateur Radio licenses in the U.S., and more than 2.5 million around the world.

Through the AARL’s Emergency Radio Program, Volunteer Communication Specialists provide emergency communications for thousands of state and local emergency response agencies, all for free.

In Sammamish, the Sammamish ARES/RACES GROUPe (SARGe), maintains equipment, certification and standards in order to provide support to the City of Sammamish, Eastside Fire and Rescue, the Sammamish Police, and other agencies.

More information about SARGe can be found on the City’s website: http://www.ci.sammamish.wa.us/Sarge